500 Tiny Lions Adopted by Area Residents

Ann Arbor, MI (January 24, 2018) – The Tiny Lions lounge and adoption Center, Ann Arbor’s first cat café, found a forever home for its 500th cat this weekend.

Garvey, a one-year old, nine pound black cat had a rough start, but did all he could to get adopted—first, charming his way into an Ann Arbor garage in the middle of winter. When no owner or microchip was found, he found himself at the Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV) where he meowed to fill his belly. He quickly gained a pound and expressed his desire to go to the Tiny Lions Center, owned by HSHV.

Garvey, a cat with purrsonality, was the 500th cat adopted at Tiny Lions

“We seek out the friendly cats,” says Haley Hamel, Tiny Lions Center’s manager. “The ones who like to sit on people’s laps, hang out with other cats—and in the case of Garvey, who want to play, play, play.”

Garvey was adopted within a week of arriving at the cat café. His adopter, a recent retiree, came to the café seeking a furry friend. The empty nester said his daughters thought he needed a cat, and gifted him all the accessories he’d need at Christmas… except the cat.

The Tiny Lions lounge and adoption Center opened in May 2016, next to Biggby coffee, with “the goal of finding more homes for homeless cats, to promote the human/animal bond, and to continue building a more compassionate world for our feline friends,” says Tanya Hilgendorf, the originator of Tiny Lions and HSHV’s President and CEO. In 2017 alone, Tiny Lions found 287 cats and 34 kittens homes, and welcomed nearly 18,000 human visitors.

Though novel in Michigan, cat cafes have existed since 1998, when the first opened in Taiwan. Since then, hundreds have opened across the globe. Tiny Lions provides a “larger than life” living room experience with 12-20 temporary resident cats, free Wi-Fi, and regular events like Yoga with Cats, Trivia with Cats, “Kitty Pawties,” Study hours, “Telecommeowting” passes and more.

The Humane Society of Huron Valley, located in Ann Arbor, is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and relies solely on the generosity of our supporters to provide critical community programs and services. HSHV is an award-winning organization, recognized for our best practices and highest animal “save-rate” among all similar shelters in Michigan. Charity Navigator, the nation’s top charity evaluator, awarded HSHV a 4-star ranking, the highest possible. The mission of HSHV is to promote the loving, responsible care of all animals in our community. HSHV is not affiliated with any other humane organization and does not receive funding from the United Way. More information can be found on HSHV’s website (hshv.org) and on our annual report (www.hshv.org/annualreport).